Lake County, FL School District Superintendent Selection Process Update - Updates on today, Tuesday's interviews

Tavares, FL                     Dec. 12, 2016              by Vance Jochim,  www.FiscalRangers.com

Update Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 - 

The Lake County, FL School District Board met this morning to ask final questions of Diane Kornegay, candidate to be the new School District Superintendent, and then also had a public meeting this evening for the public to ask questions. She knocked it out of the park. She also interviewed yesterday with 7 different groups such as unions, chamber alliance, principals, etc. and we were told at tonight's meeting they all liked her.

 

So, the School Board will meet again at 9:30 am on Thursday to make a final vote whether to give her an employment offer. It seems to be a done deal to me. She said she could start at anytime. "Is tomorrow too early" she quipped. The Board also discussed implementing a hiring freeze on hiring any new administrators until "the new Superintendent" is on board to direct the hiring. We understand that some are encouraging the Board to just buy out Dr. Moxley's contract and let Kornegay take over quickly.

 

This morning, Channel 13 was at the meeting, and also attending were both newspapers Daily Commercial and Orlando Sentinel. Hopfully both Tracy Jacim FOX 35 and Myrt Price WFTV will show up also on Thursday to cover the decision on Kornegay.

 

This is good news for Lake County students, parents and the economy. I will provide more details tomorrow on this page including links to videos of this morning and evenings sessions. After Thursday's meeting I will provide another report. The picture shows Kornegay answering questions from the audience. FiscalRangers Lake County Against Common Core Lake County Anti Bullying Lake County Safe Schools Initiative North Lake Tea Party Lake County Republicans

Early Monday, Dec. 19 Update: Lake County School District issued a press release on Dec. 14 about the selection of Diane Kornegay as second round interview candidate for Superintendent of Schools.  I didn't find it until late Sunday. 

Another Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016 Update:   Lake County School Board member Kristi Burns just posted this on Facebook:

"Dr. Kristi Burns - School Board, District 2

Tuesday Evening there will be a chance for the public to submit a question to be asked by the Chair of the board, Marc Dodd. If the question isn't answered the person who submitted the question will be able to ask for clarification/rebuttal. They will need to address their question through the chair who will then address the superintendent candidate. This will be held at the Lake County School District Board Room off of 441 in Tavares. This is your chance to question in person.

Additionally, on Monday 7 stakeholders/groups (Principals, The Chamber Aliance, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, LCEA, SEIU, will be meeting with the superintendent candidate. Provost of Lake Tech and Provost of Lake Sumter State College.)

Finally, 9:30 AM Tuesday, each member of the board will ask one (with one alternative) question to the superintendent candidate in a public meeting at the LCS District Board Room."

FiscalRangers.com comment:  Notice there are no conservative grassroots groups represented like Lake County against Common Core, Churches, the Republicans or Tea Party groups or independent parent groups (not school controlled groups like PTO).   And the Superintendent Selection Committee last week had mostly school employees and even a representative of the liberal League of Women voters.  Again, no parent or conservative or FAITH based groups on it.  That needs to change.

Update Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016 - Daily Commercial posts editorial supporting Kornegay as choice. ( I apologize for the insane, loud, popup video ads they launch without permission and inflict upon readers. Static ads are ok, but this trend for mandating you watch a 15+ second autolaunching video ad is absurd). 

Update Friday, Dec. 16, 2016:  Here are direct video links to two separate interviews of LCSD School Superintendent candidate Diane Kornegay:

First interview Dec. 13 before LCSD Superintendent Search Committee

Second public interview - Before LCSD Board Dec. 13th in evening.

Kornegay will return to Lake County for a second round of interviews on Tuesday, Dec. 20th.  First, at 9:30am the Board will interview her in public again, then a reception for her for the public at 5:30 pm - both events are currently scheduled to be at the School Dist. HQ offices on HWY 441.  I would VERIFY the times and LOCATION on Monday by reading the LCSD Calendar HERE.  Both meetings should be streamed (at least the morning meeting will be).  

THEN, on Thursday, Dec. 22, the Board will meet again publicly at 9:30 am at the LCSD HQ to decide whether to extend an offer to Kornegay to be the new LCSD School Superintendent.  This entire process has been very transparent. I have the Ray & Associates "Candidate Report" on Kornegay where they say "Google and Internet checks found nothing negative or controversial to report on this candidate".  I also have her application and answers to background questions.  She seems to be the "real deal".  

Update Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1:37 pm:  Diane Kornegay selected for second round of interviews.     This morning the Lake County School Board met to decide which of six applicants for School Superintendent would be invited back for a second round of interviews. You can see the video of that meeting HERE.   They decided that Diane Kornegay was such a good candidate, they will invite just her back for a second round of interviews next Monday and Tuesday.  On Thursday, Dec. 22, the Board will meet to determine if they will extend an offer of employment to her.  If it doesn't work out, they will invite the two next preferred candidates for a second round of interviews, Brennan Asplen III and Dr. Mark Mullins.    Kornegay was the unanimous leading candidate picked by the Board, as well as the Superintendent Selection Committee, plus both unions, the anti-Common Core moms and this blogger. HERE is my earlier Facebook Live video on her selection.   I look forward to seeing her meet more community members next week, so watch the LCSD calendar for those meetings and attend them.   I will post more about Kornegay here later this week. Also monitor the Daily Commercial website posts and print version for more articles by reporter Livi Stanford.    VJ

Update Tuesday, Dec. 13, 10:46 pm:  Tonight at 6pm was the Lake County, FL School Board SECOND meeting to interview six candidates to replace retiring School Superintendent Dr. Susan Moxley. Only about 50 people showed up and only five gave public input. I post updates here and on my personal and FiscalRangers Facebook page.  

 

AND, here is the YouTube link to the 6pm meeting video. I set it to start with public input by three local working MOMS, Christi Folker, Lory Hilbish Baxley and Caroline Van Dyken (see picture) . They are a dynamic trio, and I wish more parents were educated and outspoken about the issues like they are. Following them, I talk, then the Board hears answers to three questions from each of the six candidates, one by one. The system seems kind of stunted by using the same questions, but in the government world, job applicants can sue if they lose a position and think they weren't asked questions fairly. So government usually requires every candidate be asked the same question.

 

My observation is that all the candidates are personable with "leadership" experience, but after this second round, there appears to me to be a clear winner, and some others agree, but we will see tomorrow. My selection is based upon corporate experience, not the administrative world of K-12 education. I sent my feedback to the Board.  I have Fortune 500 interviewing and management experience, so I look for things like details, specifics, ability to MANAGE people and resources to be effective and efficient (not just administer) , cite measurable metrics and depth of examples and explanations.  Vague, generic platitudes may indicate a vague, generic management style.  I didn't get to interview them, so there may be some hidden answers possible, but the questions weren't asked. I am beginning to think that administrators in education are mostly vague, generic, but passionate.  A good corporate manager would brag about specific measurable accomplishments and explain examples in depth, but I didn't hear much of that tonight. 

 

An example of non-specific detail is one candidate mentioned "performance scorecards" but did not cite any specific examples, which makes me wonder if the performance targets on the scorecards were vague and generic - such as "we had a good meeting," which is weak.  A sronger example would be "We reduced the projected cost per student FTE for XX school by $178 per month in the second semester while average grades went up 4% and student graduation rate rose from 78% to 83%."    Then the applicant would whip out a monthly performance dashboard graphic report showing those results compared to six other similar schools in the district.  THAT is performance management. Currently, I never see such reports or similar discussion of results at Board meetings. 

 

Tomorrow morning, Wed. Dec.14, at 9:30 am, the School Board will meet to publicly discuss the candidates, rank them and select 2-3 to return for another round of interviews and public receptions next week. You can probably watch that meeting streamed via the LCSD home page (click the LCS-TV tab).  I will post that meeting's results in an update on this page after that meeting. 

Update Tuesday, Dec. 13, 3:33 pm.:   Today, I attended the initial interview round of the six finalist candidates for Lake County Superintendent of Elections.   You might read the main article below first to get some background.   All six candidates are quite good. You can read the Daily Commercial post by Livi Stanford HERE with pictures.   The LCSD staff also made a TWO part video of the interview session, and they can be found on the LCSD YouTube channel HERE.  (Note:  Don't try using the main LCSD homepage - finding these videos is NOT intuitive).  

The candidates met one on one with the five School Board members, but also rotated to be interviewed by the Superintendent Selection Committee. That is the session that was open and I attended it.  Out of 19 members, 11 were there - mostly the teacher, union and Principal members.  There were nine women and two men in the attending group.  However, the candidates were asked the same six questions approved by the Board, and there was not much interchange between the candidates and committee since the candidates used most of the allotted half hour to answer the canned questions.  Kudos to the search firm Ray & Associates AND the LCSD staff for being very organized and getting these great candidates.  You could see the enthusiasm over some candidates from the committee. 

 I decided not to make specific recommendations in this round,  However, some candidates were warm, some were "passionate", and some were very businesslike.  One came in with a printed "action plan" handout, one clearly had researched lots of LCSD programs and even the budget.  All of them are quite good.    Tonight at 6pm, the candidates will all be interviewed briefly by the entire School Board in a public meeting in the Lake County Administration "Round" building in downtown Tavares.  I don't know if it will be streamed or the video posted later.  If you can, be there to get a flavor for the candidates and give input to the Board.   The Board will meet publicly tomorrow morning Wed., Dec. 14, at 9:30 am at the LCSD HQ offices to decide on the three finalists, using their own rankings plus the ranking determined by the Superintendent Selection Committee that met today.   That meeing most likely will also be streamed via the LCSD home webpage.  

If you watch the video or visit one of the meetings, look for enthusiasm, a passionate way of expressing ideas and objectives, plus in depth DETAILS on specific war stories and not just platitudes.  I look for in depth, specific, measurable details involving people in their answers. Look for an apparent ability to motivate and inspire action, whether it is teachers, legislators, parents, local businesses or other "stakeholders".  If they are vague and generic platitudes, that may be the way they manage.

 

A recent meeting of the Lake County, FL School Board where they selected 7 candidates to interview. One dropped out, so the remaining six arrive for personal interviews with each board member on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Original Article posted Monday, Dec. 12, 2016 - read for background

The Lake County, FL School District Board, with 42,000 students and over 5,000 employees, is undergoing a search and selection for a new Superintendent of Schools to replace retiring Superintendent Dr. Susan Moxley.  The Board is assisted by national search firm Ray & Associates.  Six finalists have been selected by the School Board and will start the personal, on site interview process on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2016.  

This post will be updated with information about the candidate selection process, the candidates and the selected applicant, which is expected to happen about Dec. 22.  One round of interviews of six candidates will take place the week of Dec. 12, and the second round of three finalists will take place the week of Dec. 19, along with the assumed announcement of the finalist on Dec. 22 or soon after.  Bookmark this page and return for updates.  

The final selection will be completed on Dec. 22 after many meetings, final interviews of six candidate, then three finalists.

That process of personal candidate interviews by the Board, a 19 member selection committee and the public is starting Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016.

This page will stay as the top page on this blog until after the finalist is selected and announced, which we expect to happen on Dec. 22 just before Christmas Break.   I will post updates here on this page until the final selection, so bookmark it, although I will keep it as the top "home page" until sometime after the announcement.

I will be adding updates and links to background information, plus describe the process, including:

• Links to videos of earlier meetings of the candidate selection committee when they discussed criteria, questions submitted to candidates, reviewed 96 applications, discussed the "top 12" candidates presented to them by the national search firm Ray & Associates.
• Links to local news reports on the selection process.
•     Here is one Dec. 9th Daily Commercial article (watch out for the RUDE & OBNOXIOUS popup videos with loud audio).

• A video I will make for the three final candidates for background and my opinion on Lake County, the School District, and reasons why a candidate would WANT to move and work herr.   I have been attending School Board meetings and reporting on fiscal watchdog issues for TEN years, since I moved to Lake County to retire in 2006.  (This won't be done until probably Friday, the 16th.

A video where I describe the process so far.

A background section on how the selection process was setup.

The LCSD Superintendent Selection Committee. Two appointees from each Board member, plus representatives of both unions, teachers and Principals. NO PARENT groups.

Videos of earlier Superintendent Selection Committee & Related Board Meetings.   Unfortunately, the School District posts them on their OWN server and it is impossible to obtain a webpage address for individual videos, so you have to go HERE to see "recent" videos and click them.

    - TRY this link to view the Nov. 28, 2016 meeting of the selection committee.

    - TRY this link to view the Dec. 5 Special School Board meeting where the Board decided on seven candidates to interview.  One dropped out later.  

To view later or earlier videos of committee meetings or Board meetings, go to THIS LCSD homepage, and click the "LCS-TV" tab to find videos  It in not intuitive, so you have to play with it.  The only way I found to get a URL to the actual video is to MAIL a link, where you will see the link when it creates an email on your system.  Hopefully a new Superintendent will ensure this whole "video experience" is fixed.  The LCSD meeting videos are very good, but the video server system, webpage listings and use are not intuitive, subject to breakdowns and not easy to use like YouTube videos.  

My recommendations to the Board for criteria they should use will be added later this week.  I may analyze the final three candidates, but the search firm, Ray & Associates, and the 19 member selection committee have weeded out weaker or non-feasible candidates.

More will be posted.

Vance Jochim

www.FiscalRangers.com

YouTube Channel:  FiscalRangersFlorida

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